Binder Twine an Early Necessity for Harvesting

By Sam Moore
Published on June 24, 2013
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Natives of Yucatan harvesting leaves from sisal plants. 
Natives of Yucatan harvesting leaves from sisal plants. 
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A 1939 McCormick-Deering binder catalog shows an 8-foot binder in a good crop of wheat. The twine can be seen below and to the right of the operator. 
A 1939 McCormick-Deering binder catalog shows an 8-foot binder in a good crop of wheat. The twine can be seen below and to the right of the operator. 
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A Philippine native harvesting layers from an abaca plant stem. 
A Philippine native harvesting layers from an abaca plant stem. 
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Sisal fibers drying on wire racks. 
Sisal fibers drying on wire racks. 
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A burlap-wrapped, six-ball bale of twine.
A burlap-wrapped, six-ball bale of twine.

The world’s supply of bread literally “hangs by a thread” – a thread of binder twine.

The quotation above appeared in a 1925 booklet about binder twine published by International Harvester Co. It illustrates how vital the product was to the grain farmers of the world. Twine was used to tie sacks, fashion makeshift belts and suspenders (as portrayed in the many “farmer as hayseed” jokes), and perform a hundred other tying and fastening jobs around the farm. It was also an actual necessity in feeding the hungry population of the planet.

About this time of year 80 or more years ago, grain binders were swarming the wheat fields of the Northern Hemisphere. As the machines moved through the fields, the tying mechanisms could be heard. If the crop was good, the mechanism clicked with monotonous regularity — and each click meant another couple of feet of binder twine was used.

Key component for binders

John F. Appleby patented his twine-tying mechanism for grain harvesters in 1879, and the new binder swiftly swept the grain-growing world. By the turn of the century, virtually all small grain was harvested with a twine tie machine and the price of twine became critical to farmers, who used a lot of it.

Many sources of raw material were tried in making twine — grass, hemp, flax, straw and even paper — but all were rejected as unsatisfactory, many because rodents and insects found the taste irresistible. Finally, both sisal and manila fibers proved satisfactory and these two products became staples of binder twine manufacture.

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